Netherlands Center for Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion

About MCEC

Providing sustainable solutions for today and tomorrow

Research teams from the fields of Chemistry, Physics and Engineering jointly address one of the Grand Challenges our society faces today, i.e. sustainable energy conversion.

The current use of non-renewable resources, such as natural gas and crude oil, as well as the gradual shift to new, more sustainable resources, such as biomass, demand that our traditional chemical conversion processes have to be redesigned. More efficient and sustainable production of transportation fuels as well as base and fine chemicals requires the development of smart catalyst-reactor combinations with optimal transport of heat and mass at every length scale, i.e. from the atomic level to the level of the actual reactor. The ultimate program aim is to develop radically improved catalytic energy conversion processes through full control over the structural complexity of catalyst materials and reactors and that are capable of efficiently converting the feedstocks of today and tomorrow.

The MCEC research program has been structured such that by crossing and interconnecting the Scientific and Technological Challenges we foster both disciplinary and interdisciplinary frontier research.

Inspiring and educating new generations of talented researchers

MCEC brings together a group of around 50 scientists, both established, internationally renowned senior scientists and young, up-and-coming talent. Indeed, in addition to doing frontier research, an important objective of MCEC is to attract, educate, and foster new generations of talented people and to train them in the multidisciplinary approach that the complex, multiscale systems at hand require. MCEC aims to:

be a platform where chemists, physicists and engineers can work closely together on creative solution for the Energy challenge;

create synergy between the different disciplines and between the MCEC researchers;

attract and educate the most talented researchers;

set up activities that ensure effective interaction and free exchange of knowledge and information within the center; and